I read Palm's latest blog entry, if it can even be called that since it is an addendum to an existing one. The MR has been delayed yet again. And even worse, the delay is certain for a few (we Verizon user WON'T get an update any time soon) while Sprint users may or may not see it happen this week or early next one.

I have been frustrated beyond any reasonable limit. All along I was under the impression the MR would be released this week, without making any distinction between carriers. Naive my dream was.

It has been a year long since I got the phone, and from day one I have had the issues the MR is supposed to fix. I always decided to put up with it since I trusted Palm in releasing a patch, a way to fix what was obviously a software flaw. But during a year I have gotten nothing. An update for Infrarred? OK, that showed some degree of commitment with the device. The daylight savings update? That was something of a no-brainer.

During this year I was told the carriers were holding the MR. The carriers of course threw the ball back to Palm's court. In their original Blog entry, it is very clear Palm hadn't even released a single MR sample to carriers for certification, the wording was such that it made it clear they hadn't delivered the goods. And they stated that things were looking OK for a release this week. They not only told this once, but twice. That shows commitment, something that the 700p had been lacking since day one. And what do we get now? The same old story: we are still working on the MR, someday it will get released.

It is a moment of frustration for many. I can see us VZW users getting the short stick, but I also feel for Sprint users. We have all been in the same boat, a boat that freezes randomly, lags all the time. We have all shared the same BT disconnects, lost of paired devices, random resets. And what have we got so far? Only empty words and promises from Palm.

Is this the way a company should treat their customers? Definitely not. Palm released a wide series of devices right after the 700p and we have all seen not all of them get the same level of attention. The 700p is at the bottom of their list, that is extremely clear.

But for those of you who have read up to this point and have yet to experience the problems we have all described, I salute you. I commend you for having a solid phone, and for not caring about lags/freezes/whathave yous. As such, I ask you but one favor. If you are to post a comment in here, do not go the oft-beaten path of "my device works and your don't, so you stop moaning, the world is good". I submit to you the following. The problems are real, so much so that Palm acknowledged them several times publicly, has been dealing with them for a year and as such they are extremely real. But I do welcome the constructive comments on the topic discussed at hand.

So guys, with all things considered, one cannot trust Palm with this 700p anymore. They have failed many times, and in the moment of truth they have failed miserably. Maybe my post doesn't ask for much, maybe I am just asking in a humble way to do what should be done: fix the 700p. Fix it NOW. No more patience, no more leeway. The bell rang and it's time up. Deliver the goods Palm. You are losing customers as we speak.

Today, I die as a Palm user. Today, I become a dissatisfied customer that bought a piece of faulty technology from them, and demand an immediate fix after a year long deadline.

Ode to the Treo Pro: you had to look so good, you had to be HTC in disguise...

(I'll agree that the Palm bashing/MR complain is going over the top, but I really need to get this out of my system before I loose it)

The delay with the MR does not bother me as much as the 755p release. As a software developer I can understand the potential reasoning for the delay (I am assuming that it is a bug that was caught and not some slow process). Software can get so complex that finding all of the major bugs can be a task in itself (writing a tester that is as enormous as the program you want to test) that some major bugs just one be caught early enough.

But, what really has me crying is the Treo 755p release. The 75p release seems like a slap in the face to me. All it does is remove the antenna and potentially (I have not played with a 755p, nor do I have the desire to) fixes some of the bugs in the 700p that our promised MR is supposed to fix. I am rapidly loosing faith in Palm. I will admit, I am a Palm addict (I think the Foleo is pretty cool, but lacking in some aspects), but this is going too far.

All I want is for Palm to develop an innovative product and stay committed to it. If they want my commitment and loyalty as a customer, then **** it, I want theirs!

I want the pre-palmOne Palm back. The Tungsten T3 was nice and innovative.

I am just glad that Universe and UniverseCore are going to be portable.

Anyway, that is the last you'll hear from me regarding the 700p MR/755p Release subject.

I have to agree with other posters: if I was still trying to use my 700p I would be going mental at this latest, yet predictable, delay.

Honestly, one has to ask, are things so literally desperate with Palm that they really need another 24 hours? What is going to change in that time? And Verizon 700p users must REALLY be feeling the pain at this latest news, especially after seeing the 680 get many updates and the Foleo introduced.

What I think should concern every 700p owner is something inferred in Bob-C's thread: the possibility of a hardware defect in the 700p. This is only my opinion, but it seems to me that Palm is well aware that the 700p is a failure as a product, and more than anything just wants to sweep it under the rug and start over.

Speaking for myself, I have been using the 755p for three weeks (no-cost upgrade via retention discount + selling 700p on eBay) and am fairly happy with it. Nothing earth shattering, but in terms of stability it is a major improvement. I came very close to jumping ship for the BB8800 and iPhone, but the contract termination penalties helped change my mind. That, and a minor investment in Treo accessories (cradle, chargers, etc.).

All things considered, my remaining with Palm is strictly a matter of cost and convenience. The problem for Palm is one of increased competition: there are more and more products coming to market that can do what the Treo does with better stability (RIM) and elegance (iPhone). The only thing that keeps someone like me from switching to another platform/carrier is cost. Were it not for the 755, I would be much more anxiously waiting for the BB8830 which comes to Sprint in July.

Since the Sprint version will be coming out before the Verizon one, it would appear that the delay is not totally Palm's fault but the carrier's. I'm not trying to apologize for Palm but we need to equally spread the blame. I wish Palm was a bit more up-front with us but the carrier is their customer too and they probably are not willing, or can't afford, to throw them under the bus.

I wish I could say I am shocked but I am not. I predicted that when Palm vowed the MR to be available in the last week of May pending carrier approval, between the lines they were really saying JUNE.

What baffles me the most is how can Paul not know on Thursday if the Sprint update will be available on Friday or not? Is it done or isn't? Has it passed testing or not? What would be changing within 24 hours? Did they find something broke at the last second and are scrambling to fix it and get it tested again? Does that make you all warm and fuzzy about loading it? And if the Verizon one is now an indeterminate amount of time away then what happened from the, "right on schedule for week of the 28th", post? Sounds like something was found broken on at least one carrier. Hopefully Paul will enlighten us on the Blog today.

What I think should concern every 700p owner is something inferred in Bob-C's thread: the possibility of a hardware defect in the 700p. This is only my opinion, but it seems to me that Palm is well aware that the 700p is a failure as a product, and more than anything just wants to sweep it under the rug and start over.

I don't think that should be much of a concern- normally in the business world if someone releases defective hardware that isn't fixable through a patch or firmware update or whatever other repairs a recall is ordered and the units replaced. I'd be happy with that.

I don't think that should be much of a concern- normally in the business world if someone releases defective hardware that isn't fixable through a patch or firmware update or whatever other repairs a recall is ordered and the units replaced. I'd be happy with that.

The only time I have seen a recall on a product that has sustained an equipment failure after over a year on the market was when Ford and Firestone got into a shoving match about tires blowing out and causing rollovers. That took approximately three years to actually happen. Looking at computer companys, Sony realized a problem and didn't really address it, they just released a different product. Motorola, new product or a memory card.

Will Palm replace the 700p with something else? Not without a class action suit. Even then, I would bet the resolution would be something like a free application or case. There is no way that we would ever see a free device.

Avenues exist for many Sprint 700p users to upgrade to the 755p at little (or no) cost. While not as satisfying as holding Palm's feet to the fire for their failure with the 700p, its definitely better than suffering with a 700p.

If nothing else, 700p users putting pressure on Sprint to get retention deals will in turn put pressure on Palm.

The only time I have seen a recall on a product that has sustained an equipment failure after over a year on the market was when Ford and Firestone got into a shoving match about tires blowing out and causing rollovers. That took approximately three years to actually happen. Looking at computer companys, Sony realized a problem and didn't really address it, they just released a different product. Motorola, new product or a memory card.

Intel recalled the Pentium processors it started releasing in March 1993 after the bug was discovered and reported in Late 1994.

Cost them a lot of money, but it was good PRPRPR$to$$replace$$the$$chips$.

Avenues exist for many Sprint 700p users to upgrade to the 755p at little (or no) cost. While not as satisfying as holding Palm's feet to the fire for their failure with the 700p, its definitely better than suffering with a 700p.

It is frustrating for those of us that don't want the 755. I am wanting to wait until something that has some more features comes out before I sign a 2 year contract, etc. I don't want to waste all of that to just get a few bug fixes and lose the antenna.

Palm, Inc. may not be performing up to our specs on the 700p situation. It's not the first time things haven't been perfect, and it isn't the first time things have been late. Not just from Palm, but from anyone. Even me. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone, etc. etc.

Palm, Inc.'s performance on this MR has been better (in my opinion) than previous cycles because they have made attempts to communicate with the eager audience. Maybe the communication wasn't satisfactory to you (whoever you are) but they're trying. And they'll learn and do better next time.

(E.g., look at Chatter's comments in the Foleo hoo-hah. There is an example of fine communication with the user community. The others at Palm will learn through doing and getting clubbed about the head and shoulders by the gentle folks on TC and elsewhere. Give them time.)

I'm sure that the Palm folks aren't sitting around attempting to aggravate TC readers, and I'm also sure that they aren't sitting around being lazy or taking technical shortcuts.

Also, as others have suggested, the MR may not be a matter totally within Palm's control. Messrs Sprint and Verizon might have a say in what happens, and when. It would help if Palm told us this, but maybe they aren't allowed to do that. Or that might tee off their big phone company customers.

Could it be that the Sprint MR is coming first, because for Sprint the 700P is EOL, and they are currently selling the replacement 755P?

So, since Verizon doesn't have the 755P yet to sell, they are delaying the MR untill they get rid of the last few thousand 700P's off their shelves?? I noticed they have been running ads up the wazoo for the 700P lately.

Cynical, I know, but I wouldn't put it past the carriers to wait for non-technical reasons, but for economic ones!

Another musing...

Maybe we'll wake-up and find that the MR is really a free 755P, available on either carrier, as part of a massive re-call. Expensive for Palm, but good for PRPRPR ($which$$they$$may$$have$$very$$little$$of$$right$$now$).

The first one, the cellular radio quit working after just one day. Got it working after a hard reset but swapping the SIM would cause the problem to reappear.

Radio quit completly after another day.

The second phone just freezes occasionally on incoming calls (at least that what she tells me...). I have seen it happen. the ATT version has an update, but not the Unlocked version. I guess an update is in the works, but I am not counting on it.

I still am not sure what to replace it with, but I am thinking a no frills Nokia or maybe a Motorola flip (very purse friendly)

I have been using a 6700 and 700p on Sprint... mostly the 6700. The 6700 works much better for me since I am a heavy data user and hardly use the phone.

When the MR does finally come out at the end of this month, I might upgrade my phone.... we shall see.

I bought a $300 piece of equipment and laid out even more money for accessories for said equipment with the understanding that it would perform all the functions that it said on the box it would do. After a year of frustrating crash after hang after hard reset after Bluetooth malady after another, it is obvious that we were all sold a bill of goods.

I demand compensation! I feel like I got screwed! And even worse, I feel like I'm being strung along and lied to, besides--and I don't know which is worse!

Great feedback and comments! This is but a sample of what the forums are, even during this time of "distress" for a few.

I agree that Palm is not the first and certainly won't be the last to release a buggy product to the market. It is a common practive in the industry. But also it is common to release patches to fix said problems. At the moment I bought the 700p I had Palm's support for products (600/650) and that's what I took into consideration when I bought the device.

What is a shocking revelation is that disconnect between reality and promises. It was first the lack of acceptance from Palm that the 700p clealy had issues, and afterwards it has been the painful process of promising to release a patch to fix things and the constant delay of said patch.

But also the ire comes from a single series of mishaps from their part. They re-assured us the patch would be out this week. Twice. That's a fact, not a rumor somebody found in the obscure depths of the internet. So, if this fact comes directly from the Palm camp, one could have rest assured that it was a highly probable event. After all they are the ones going to the carrier's labs, they are the ones testing the MR, etc. Even further, they never made a distinction between carriers, that was another key aspect of the communications. If all along they had made it clear that the MR could happen sooner for a carrier than the other, then I would not hold this grudge against them. If anything I feel deceived.

I will use all the means I have in my power to make my voice heard. I'll contact the BBB, voice my disconcerns online, contact Tech support everywhere and make sure Palm does not get away with treating me the way they have treated me so far any longer. As a paying, loyal customer I believe I deserve some respect.

Ode to the Treo Pro: you had to look so good, you had to be HTC in disguise...